Some subscribers to Math-Learn might be interested in a discussion-list post "Re: Lecture Isn't Effective: More Evidence #2" [Hake (2011)].

The abstract reads:

*************************************************ABSTRACT: In reply to my post "Re: Lecture Isn't Effective: More Evidence" at <http://bit.ly/r80W5i>, Ed Laughbaum of the MathEdCC list wrote at <http://bit.ly/r8StCV>: "My guess is that of the nearly 6 billion people on earth who have been (are being) educated, learned through lecture. . . . . Is lecture a common practice in China? In India? In Thailand? In Brazil? Canada, etc.? My guess is yes. "

To which Alain Schremmer replied "Yes, most people in the world learn from lectures but this is only because, in most of the world, there just are no textbooks: the teacher writes the book on the board and the students copy what's on the board in their notebook."

Laughbaum went on to point out that the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of lectures is related to the neurobiology of human memory as discussed by Gerald M. Edelman <http://bit.ly/n1LpW9>, Terry McDermott <http://bit.ly/qNPAQP>, and Richard Restak <http://bit.ly/pfWYNg>.*************************************************

Hake, R.R. 2011. "Re: Lecture Isn't Effective: More Evidence #2," online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at <http://bit.ly/mXiXoh>. The abstract and link to the complete post are being transmitted to various discussion lists and are also on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/rr2BQU> with a provision for comments.